Waltzes and Fairy Lights
by NearYourSmile
Summary: Ron ruins Hermione's evening, but can Harry do anything to cheer her up?


Harry was inside the great hall, listening to the music and think of how he had wished the evening had gone. But he wasn't having an awful time. He was thinking about asking someone to dance, just for the fun of it. He was an awful dancer but he figured he might as well enjoy what was left of the evening. He was about to approach a girl from Ravenclaw that he knew from herbology when he heard them.

"He's using you!" Ron accused.

"How dare you! Besides I can take care of myself." Hermione retorted.

They were walking towards the exit of the great hall, Harry's eyes followed them as continued to fight.

"Doubt it. He's way too old." Ron said matter-o-factly.

"What? What? That's what you think?" Hermione screamed outraged.

"Yeah that's what I think."

Harry sighed and rose from his chair. He turned towards the door and began to follow his two friends out of the hall. He just wished that for once they could get along.

"You know the solution then, don't you?"

"Go on."

"Next time there's a ball, pluck up the courage and ask me before somebody else does! And not as a last resort!"

"Well.. I.. Ju- That's just completely off the point. Harry."

Harry had just come out of the great hall to come face to face with his fighting friends. He looked at Ron is disbelief. Sometimes he could be so thick. It was pathetic. Suddenly, Hermione turned on him.

"Where have you been?" Harry tried to tell her he'd just been in side. He motioned towards the hall and began to speak. "Never mind off to bed. Both of you." Hermione enforced.

Harry walked over to Ron trying to figure out why he would intentionally start a fight with Hermione. He couldn't just let her have a nice evening could he? They started to walk up the stairs.

Ron turned back to face Hermione and said to Harry, "They get scary when they get older."

"Ron, you spoiled everything!" She screamed at him from the staircase.

Ron and Harry walked up the stairs and around the corner when Harry stopped.

"What'd you go and do that for? You couldn't just let her have a nice evening?" Harry hissed accusingly.

"I was just looking out for her! She was fraternizing with the enemy! Who knows what he's capable of!" Ron shrieked defensively.

"Right. Sure Ron. I forgot something in the great hall. I'll see you later."

With that Harry turned away from Ron and began to walk back down the stairs to the great hall. He rushed past all the students that were now heading up to their rooms. He couldn't very well leave Hermione in that sort of state. He cared for her deeply and hated to see her so upset. She meant so much to him and here she was all hung up on Ron. He couldn't even see what he had! He was so lucky to have Hermione falling for him, and he couldn't even see it. Merlin, he was such an idiot. What Harry wouldn't give to have Hermione show some interest in him. He had tried to go after Cho to supress his feelings for Hermione, but it hadn't worked. Nothing could get rid of the way that bushy haired bookworm made his head spin. So here he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He'd only ever be her friend. He'd accepted that, if he couldn't be with her, he wanted her to be happy. Harry would happily stay Hermione's best friend. It was so much better than nothing.

He reached the staircase where they'd left Hermione only 10 minutes ago and stopped. There she was sitting on the stairs with her shoes off, crying her eyes out. There was no one else there, everyone else was still enjoying the dance or had gone to bed. She was sobbing so much she didn't even hear him approach her. He slowly sat down next to her and she tried to stop crying to see who was there. She turned to look at him, her eyes shining with tears, and bit her lip. The she spoke in a very voice.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Harry. It's just- it's just hard sometimes."

"I know. It's fine. He's an idiot you know. I can't believe he can't see how lucky he is." He said to her, as he put an arm around her shoulders as a gesture of comfort.

"Oh right. So lucky to have some bookish twerp fawning over him."

"You are not some bookish twerp! You are an intelligent, elegant, energetic and beautiful girl. He's just too thick to see what's looking right at him."

She looked up at him with a smile on her lips. She threw her arms around him. "Thank you Harry. You always manage to make me feel better."

"Anytime, Hermione," He said as he hugged her tightly. They sat like that for a while, until Harry stood up to stand in front of her. She looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Now, I'm not going to have your evening ruined by that prat. We're going to end it on a high note. Hermione, may I have this dance?" he asked, as he extended his hand to her.

"Of course," she said sweetly as she took his hand.

Harry led her back into the great hall where, a slow waltz was playing. She place one hand on his shoulder and he place one of his on the small of her back and pulled her close. They began to sway and twirl around to the music. Harry couldn't help but feel how much easier it was to dance with Hermione; it felt natural, not stiff and jagged like when he had to dance with Parvati. They kept dancing, and Harry even spun Hermione around cause her to let out pearls of laughter that made a large grin to spread across his face. When the song ended the tempo changed to something upbeat and energetic. The two teenagers had a blast jumping around to the music, not caring how silly they looked.

After they had been dancing for some time, they began to feel a little tired. Harry suggested that they take a walk outside, and Hermione agreed. He offered her his arm and they walked towards the courtyard.

When they opened the doors, and walked outside, Hermione let out a gasp. The whole courtyard was decorated with tiny fairy lights setting the whole place a glow. There was gauzy white fabric hanging over the benches, giving the space the feel of an enchanted castle. They walked thought the empty courtyard together admiring the decorations and occasionally laughing about their dances moves in the hall. Eventually, they settled on a bench hidden in the corner of the yard. They sat down in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the other's company. It was a cold night and Hermione's thin dress robes did little to shield her from the cool breeze. Harry noticed she was cold and immediately offered her his jacket. She tried to refuse but he insisted. She accepted gratefully and tried to warm herself up. Harry noticed she was still shivering slightly and put his arm around her to try and get her to warm up. She snuggled up to him and relaxed. Harry felt utterly content in that moment; he wished this was how it always was. He had to ask. He couldn't hold it back.

"What is it you see in him, Hermione?"

Taken aback by the question she gazed up at him and said "I dunno really. He just… I dunno."

"You have to know. I mean, does he make you feel a certain way or…?"

"Well I'm not really sure. He's just alright I suppose."

"If he was just alright then you wouldn't have been so cross with him earlier."

"Well maybe I wasn't really cross about him."

He was surprised by her answer. Who else would she have been cross with? "What do you mean by that?"

"Maybe I was cross about someone else. And maybe I just make it seem like I'm interested in Ron to make him jealous." She bit her lip as she finished talking.

They were quiet for a bit. Neither of them sure if they should say what was on their mind. But they didn't pull apart. Hermione stayed huddled in his arms and he held her tightly. Finally curiosity got the best of him.

"So why did you have to make this guy jealous?"

"Because he was interested in some older girl, and I didn't think he'd notice me."

Realizing what Hermione was saying Harry took a risk and said " I think he notices you now. I think he's always noticed you, and the other girl was just to try and take his mind off how he felt about you."

She looked up at him and said "Harry you don't mean that yo-" Her sentence was cut short by a quick kiss from Harry.

She was too stunned to react for a moment and Harry fidgeted nervously. She then looked into his eyes, those emerald green eyes that she could lose herself in, and smiled. She launched herself at him and began kissing him passionately. He was taken aback but soon pulled her, close and deepened the kiss. When then finally broke apart he rested his forehead on hers and held her in his arms. She had her arms wrapped loosely around his neck and looked into his eyes contently.

"It's always been you, Hermione. There was never anyone else."

"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that." She whispered as she gave him a quick peck on the lips.

The lights twinkled around them as Harry pulled her closer. He'd never been happier to know that he'd been wrong. Sometimes you can get everything you want, he thought as he looked at the girl in his arms fondly.

~~If you liked that story, I do have an alternet ending in mind. Just let me know if your interested in reading it and perhaps I'll write it! Thanks all~~


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